INEC has removed 7,746 deceased voters to ensure an accurate voter register.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has confirmed that 7,746 deceased voters were removed from the national voter register in Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory as of December 2022.
INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Victoria Etta-Messi, disclosed this on Thursday, emphasising the commission’s commitment to maintaining an accurate voter register.
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“Seven thousand, seven hundred and forty-six decreased persons across the 36 states and the FCT were removed from the National Register of voters as of December 2022,” she stated.
Despite progress in cleaning the register, INEC highlighted persistent challenges during its 2023 post-general election review in December 2024. One major issue is the difficulty of removing deceased voters due to inadequate official death records.
“Problems with official death records continue to make it very difficult for INEC to remove deceased registrants,” the commission noted, adding that enhanced collaboration with agencies like the National Population Commission (NPC) and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) is critical to address the issue.
INEC also tackled double and multiple registrations using the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS), which flagged and removed 2,780,756 invalid registrations, accounting for 22.6% of new registrants.
Concerns over declining voter turnout were also raised. The 2023 presidential and National Assembly elections recorded a turnout of 27.5%, a drop from 35.6% in 2019. Stakeholders attributed this decline partly to an inflated voter register and proposed measures such as suspending individuals who have not voted in the last three elections and requiring them to revalidate their registration.
INEC affirmed its commitment to improving the voter registration process and addressing these issues to enhance electoral integrity in future elections.
